Google+

[KristineS]

I'm sure the number comes from Google and there probably are a lot of people on it, if you figure worldwide, but it may take time to find people you know. I know I've been building my Google+ profile and a page for the business and it's been difficult finding people. Like anything else, I guess it takes time.

[greenoak]

you are right...i googled it...lol....

[vangogh]

I forget where the 50 million estimate came from. I don't know if Google specifically said it or not, or if someone came up with a guesstimate based on data that was out there.

Right now the people on Google+ tend toward the early adopters. Internet marketers, techie types, etc. It hasn't filtered down to the masses so it's not surprising you aren't seeing all the people you know there. The question is whether or not the masses will eventually join. Google is aggressively pushing Google+ through all their other products and the success with the early adopters suggests they will get the masses there. Facebook didn't start with 800 million users. It took them several years before the masses were using the site.

A reason for getting in on Google+ now is that you can build a presence and be in a good position if and when the masses do arrive.

[greenoak]

today i read thru these google threads with my web person ...we have signed up for google + .... but when we looked t some of the most popular people we know, like with 500 facebook friends.... there were very few on google +....so for now anyway it isnt being used by very many people in my target field.... my web person doesnt think its going to take off.... we are open to it if it does tho......

[vangogh]

Not everyone is there so it wouldn't be uncommon for people you know on Facebook not to be using Google+ yet. I would disagree with your web person though about it taking off. I wouldn't expect it to grow to Facebook size any time soon, but it's grown enough already and is being promoted by Google to indicate it probably will catch on with the general public.

[greenoak]

.my field is heavily on facebook so if they arent on google + that tellls me what i need to know............. i would say a customer w ith 500 friends and just a teeny amount on google + tells me a lot...and my dil has over 400 friends and about 6 google +..why wouldnt you count this as good info?....they are typical of my customers.......
also if all these customers are happy with facebook why and how would they make the time for another big social thing? im not against it...just judging the facts i see around me... so far...

[vangogh]

It tells you they aren't there today. It says nothing about whether or not they'll be there tomorrow. Ann the only thing I disagreed with was you said your web person said Google+ wouldn't take off. The facts you're pointing to only suggest it hasn't taken off yet, not that it won't take off in the future.

None of us knows where Google+ will be a year from now. What we do know is it has grown much faster than any other social network in its early days and that Google is putting a lot into promoting it. Google has a lot of users across all its products and it's integrating Google+ with all of them.

You can't grow a social network to a size approaching Facebook overnight. Facebook didn't get there overnight either. Having seen other networks, including Facebook, grow we can see certain hurdles they had to get over on the way to mass adoption. So far Google+ has been getting past the early hurdles that most networks never get past.

And I'm not saying now that you have to spend time with Google+ If your customers aren't there then you aren't going to get much out of it now. However I'm suggesting that in time your customers will be there and if you were to spend some time with Google+ between now and then you'll be in a much better position to profit when that time comes.

[greenoak]

i hear you.... im hearing more doubts about it so far...
hopefully ilt isnt t rying to be facebook...we already have that....
im there if it does take off...

[vangogh]

I do understand why you wouldn't be jumping all over it. Your customers are on Facebook and so that's where you should be. And I also understand the lack of time trying to be everywhere all the time. There's only so much time in the day.

Google+ does want to compete with Facebook. I think they would ultimately like to be your first social network for all things. I don't think the world should stop at one network either. True we have Facebook, but not everyone likes it and competition is a good thing. For example Facebook has already added better privacy controls because Google+ launched with them and some people left Facebook because of those controls.

The reason I've been pointing people to Google+ is because I do think it's done well so far and it looks like Google finally got social networking right. I don't expect it to happen overnight, but it won't surprise me to see Google+ grow to the point where it is competing with Facebook in a few years.